Unseeing
by Revalacy
Summary: After he loses his sight and his mother to a deranged serial killer, Danny Fenton must learn to move on. But when his worst fears come back to haunt him, will he be able to save them from his own nightmares?
1. The Rosary Killer

_**Danny Phantom**_

_**Unseeing**_

_Author's Notes: Since DP seems to be partially future set, I pushed the years forward a bit. This is a sort of suspense story, but it'll get a bit more violent in later chapters as the plot unfolds. Well, read on, and see. This is "Unseeing."_

**DISCLAIMER: Danny Phantom is not my property. Fictional characters that come from my imagination, however, are my property. I am receiving no money for this story, and I would appreciate if characters of my own creation were used only with permission.  
**

**Chapter One**

**The Rosary Killer**

* * *

**Friday, April 5, 2010**

**The Fenton Residence**

**5:23 PM**

It was a routine family meal. And for the family, the last. Each one was talking about the weekends plans. The young woman was whispering excitedly about a psycology convention she'd been invited to. The big man at the head of the table was saying, rather loudly, that he was on his way to a ghost hunters meeting, which he'd been invited to via a mysterious invitation. And the raven-haired boy, of course, was headed to his friend's house for their weekly movie marathon.

The woman with the lovely eyes, however, was destined for a quiet weekend at home, with no one to keep her company. Well, it wasn't all bad. That just meant she could work on the rest of her private inventions without interuption, such as her husband's foolish actions.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the phone rang, jolting her back into reality as her son scrambled out of the kitchen to grab the phone.

"Oh, hey Tuck," came his voice from the living room. "Yeah, so... okay... oh, okay. Well, see ya Monday then."

She sighed. Well, that meant only one thing. But it wasn't all bad. At least now she wouldn't be all alone.

**Saturday, April 7, 2010**

**The Fenton Residence**

**9:32 PM**

"NO! LET ME GO YOU STUPID-"

"Now, now, we don't want to wake your mother, little boy..." the man hissed. The boy he was speaking to was tied up to the banister, writhing and screaming. The man silently ascended the stairs and slipped into the master bedroom. The boy tied to the banister screamed his frustration. His mind was racing, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He was too worked up to even think about changing.

His mother's screams, however, caused a furious rush in him that eliminated the need for the change. He ripped through his bindings and bolted up the stairs. "HANG ON!" he shouted.

What he saw when he opened his parent's bedroom door made his blood chill. There the man sat, straddling his helpless mother. A rosary hung around her bruised neck. A knife was buried to the hilt in her left hand. Though she was struggling fiercely, her eyes never blinked. Danny flew across the room to the bed, tackling the man. The two toppled to the floor.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" he roared. The man and Danny struggled for several long moments... and then Maddie moaned in pain. Danny looked up. "Mom!" he shouted. The distraction gave the dark man just enough time to yank the knife out of Maddie's palm and swing it wildly at Danny's head with a sickening _slice_.

Blood ran... and everything was black...

"Oh god... my eyes..." he whispered. And then the squelching noise of the knife sinking into flesh hit his ears again... Maddie gasped one final time...

He snapped.

His eyes flashed a furious and deadly green through the wet crimson running down his face.

The rest of that night was a complete blurr for Danny Fenton. That night, he lost his mother. That night, he sent a murderer to his death.

Danny Fenton was only fourteen, struggling with new, paranormal powers, highschool, and... the loss of his mother. Jack and Jasmine had both been away, Jack to a false ghosts anonymous meeting and Jazz to a lecture held at a university in New York. Danny had been the only one home, due to some cancelled plans with his two best friends. The man who had been stalking Maddie Fenton had not anticipated another player in his game, but had dealt with it efficiently enough.

At least, before he knew the boy was half ghost.

**Thursday, October 13, 2010**

**Amity Park Prison**

**10:13 PM**

"Damon Slist, you have hereby been sentanced to death by the state of Minnesota, by way of lethal injection, for 56 counts of murder in the first degree. Do you have any last words?" asked the man holding the hypodermic needle. Danny, his father, and his sister were watching. Hate coursed through Danny.

Do it already, he thought. Just kill the bastard.

The man called Damon locked his misty brown orbs with Danny's fierce blue ones through the dark glasses he wore. Insane lust for blood glossed Damon Slist's eyes. A smile of sadist joy touched his cracked lips. "See you in three, little boy."

Jack had to restrain his son from pouncing on the man and doing the "executioner's" job (as Danny had been referring to him since the sentance had been issued) with his bare hands.

A moment later the needle sank home, the liquid seeped in... and Damon Slist passed from the living world. But only the living world.

The announcement was made the next day in the paper, which Jack promptly clipped out and hung on the fridge.

_Damon Slist, also known as the "Rosary Killer," was executed yesterday via lethal injection. He was convicted of 56 murders across seven states, including those of three Amity Park residents, Janette Manson, Vannessa Gray, and Maddie Fenton. The hearts of the entire community go out to the families of the victims. Thanks to local boy, Danny Fenton, the son of one of the victims, Damon was apprehended by officials and convicted on his testimony. More on Page 6 a..._

The loss of a wife and mother devastated the Fentons, but none so much as Danny. For years it haunted him... his mother's unseeing eyes woke him often in the middle of the night. He was gripped by guilt.

_Why couldn't I save her?_

**Monday, October 2, 2013**

**Casper High, room 36**

**10:22 AM**

"Mr. Fenton, did you hear a word I just said?" the shiny-scalped man at the head of the room asked. Danny lifted his head slightly, groggy, and shook his head.

"Then I'll ask again. What are the three allusions used in literature?"

"Um..." the raven haired teen muttered before his head hit his desk again with a thud. The class roared with laughter as the bald man slapped his palm to his forehead. Though quite unsuccessfully, Mr. Lancer had been attempting to get Danny to pay attention in his class since the school year started. How he had gotten them a third year, Danny didn't know, but he suspected that Lancer did it just to spite them.

Nosey old coot.

But Danny didn't mean to sleep in class. He was just exhausted. Late night ghost hunts, homework, and splitting chores (if that's what you would call it) with his father left him with very few hours of sleep every night. Those few precious hours were dramatically reclining at a very alarming rate.

They had hardly been back to school a month and already Lancer felt the need to pile on homework as though the apocolypse were coming, which Danny thought possible with what he'd seen that summer (which is altogether a whole other story). And the three years before it. Apparently there was now another way for the ghosts to escape the ghost zone in huge masses, a tear, if you will, between the two dimensions large enough to fit an army through. He'd spent the last six months repairing the gash and hunting down the escapees to throw back into the ghost zone. Considering the number of no-longer-living people, there were quite a few. And still many more to go. Danny, Val, Sam, and Tucker were the only ones taking care of the problem,(as Jazz was away at college), so their free time for anything (including sleep) was very limited. Especially for Danny.

Mercifully the bell rang and the class cluttered out of the room. As Danny got up to leave, Mr. Lancer's hand on his shoulder told him he wouldn't be going anywhere for a few minutes.

"Mr. Fenton, I think we need to have a word."

Danny's shoulders drooped. "I know, I'm trying, I really am, it's just that..." he trailed off. He knew telling Mr. Lancer, "I've been up all night chasing ghosts" would probably not draw a very good outcome.

"Just what? I know you can do better, I've seen you do better. You always look worn, you can't stay awake in class, and I've noticed bruises and scrapes all over the place. Is everything alright at home?"

"Yeah, fine. I'm never home anyways..." he mumbled. It was true, though, and when he was home, he was in his room or in the lab emptying the thermos. But Danny knew what Lancer had implied. _Is your father beating you? _Well, his father was always away at conventions and research expeditions, so the house was usually empty, no longer the busy home it once was. Since Maddie had passed, his father's goofy outlook had died away. To be truthful, he rarely even said anything at all.

Mr. Lancer eyed him skeptically. "Well... alright then. But if there is a problem, you should come talk to me." He squeezed the teen's shoulder. Danny knew what he was talking about. "Off you go then."

Danny left the classroom depressed again. He'd been trying not to think about what had happened, since it only made matters worse. He caught up with his two friends and told them what Lancer had said. Sam was silent, as though she were analyzing the information.

"Sounds like he thinks your dad's beating on you or something," Tucker said as they arrived at Danny's locker. Danny shrugged.

"That's exactly what Lancer thinks. But he's never home, I don't know when he'd find the time. And when he is home, he doesn't really look at me. Probably because of this," Danny motioned to the dark sunglasses he'd been wearing for the past three years. "I think he feels guilty and can't really handle it. Who knows, maybe I'm just ugly."

Sam nudged him with her elbow. "Don't say that, you know it's not true."

Danny made a face at her and opened his locker. Since the incident with Damon three years earlier, Danny had been wearing those glasses for a reason. The swipe Damon had made with the knife had completely blinded Danny. Ugly scars covered his eyes and the area around them. His orbs themselves had remained the fierce blue they'd always been, but had an unfocused look to them, as well as what looked like a blood mark where the knife had made contact. It was like a loudspeaker announcing, "Hey, look at me! I'm blind!"

Fortunately for Danny, his ghost half corrected that little problem. His ghost sense now doubled to detect spiritual energies and his hearing was sharper than a sonogram's. Every little noise and reverberation illuminated a clear picture in Danny's mind. Using his ghost energy he was able to reach out and feel the things around him without physically touching them or using one of those stupid sticks. When reading, he could "see" the words by drumming his fingers lightly on the desk. Since the ink or graphite was a different material than the paper, the sounds were different frequencies.

There were few people who knew he was blind. The principal and a few of his teachers, his family, and his two friends. The teachers who didn't know had just been told to allow him to wear the glasses by the principal. Of those that knew, only four knew the extent of his condition (ghost powers included): Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and his father.

The hulking mass of Dash Baxter stomped up to Danny, brandishing a failed test and a fist. "You gave me the wrong answers on our chemistry test, Fentwerp!" he shouted. Danny shook his head.

Calmly, he replied, "You asked me for answers, not the _right _answers."

Dash yowled and threw a punch. Danny had already felt it coming by the rush in the air and the tensing of the muscles on the right side of Dash's body. He flashed to the right moments before Dash's fist came swinging at him and missed by several inches. With a crunch it hit the locker and Dash screached in pain.

"Leave me alone, Dash. I'm not in a very good mood."

"Yeah, and it'll be worse when I break your face!" he shouted. But before he could throw another punch, the trio was gone. "What? Where'd they go?"

**Monday, October 2, 2013**

**The Fenton Residence, The Lab**

**7:36 PM**

It was a quiet night for Danny. His father was off on some convention or hunt again and Jazz had already gone back to college. He was home alone, as it had been for so many nights that month. Danny was in the lab, emptying the thermos and thinking aloud to himself.

"God I hate this thing..." he mumbled, glaring at the portal. "Why don't you just stay closed? Damn it..."

As if in response the doors of the portal flew open. Knowing something was on the other side, Danny decided it was time to change.

"Going ghost!" he said, and the rings appeared at his middle and swept over him. His jeans and t-shirt were replaced by a black jumpsuit emblazoned with the D on his chest. Danny Fenton became Danny Phantom.

He waited... and suddenly a figure flew out of the swirling green.

"BEWARE!"

"Not you again!" Danny groaned, and snatched up the thermos. "Okay, in ya go!"

"You cannot catch me, for I am THE BOX GHOST! FEAR ME!" he roared and flew up and through the ceiling. Danny groaned again and took off after him. He'd been hoping for a quiet night for a change. Because of the Box Ghost, that was never the case. Escpecially not tonight.

The lab seemed more creepy than normal with the green glow of the portal. It was silent... and then something else came out of the portal. A ghost, but it wasn't like Ember or Skulker or The Box Ghost. It was just a ghost... who slipped silently up the stairs. It looked at the pictures on the walls of the family. There was the boy holding a soccer trophy as a child and with his friends as a teenager. There was a girl in several picures. One of her graduation, one of her first car, even one holding the letter of acceptance to Harvard. More pictures of the boy followed that, his own first new car, his prom pictures with the creepy goth girl seen in the other picture, he and the dark skinned boy tubing on a lake. There were pictures of both the boy and girl, and a man and woman with them. There were pictures of the girl with a handsom dark-haired boy, and pictures of other family memories.

Flashes from the past flooded through the ghost. It moved then to look at one of the girl's pictures again... and slipped through the ceiling and away.

**Monday, October 2, 2013**

**The Skies above Amity Park**

**9:47 PM**

Danny was cursing The Box Ghost. He'd spent more than two hours chasing that fat one around, practically in circles. The whole time the ghost just shouted, "You cannot catch me! I am The Box Ghost! Beware! Fear me!"

"Stop moving so I can beat the hell out of you!" Danny yelled in frustration. Lack of sleep had caused him to lose focus. Normally, with a few more hours rest, Danny would have already caught and beaten the Box Ghost three times. With a burst of speed he caught up and back-handed The Box Ghost out of the sky.

"No! I cannot be defeated, for I am The Box- aaauuugh!" he shouted and was sucked into the thermos.

"I hate him..." Danny muttered and rose into the air again.

"Wow, a record two hours. Good going, Danny," came a glassy voice from behind him. There Sam and Tucker stood, laughing. Danny flushed, reverted, and put the dark glasses back on.

"He wouldn't quite flying around in circles, I couldn't catch him! He just kept changing direction right when I was about to get him..." but no matter how much he explained they continued to laugh.

"C'mon man, let's head back to your place. Dad gone again?"

"Yup."

"Good, we can watch some scary movies."

Danny shrugged and the three headed back to the Fenton residence. While walking, Tucker asked Danny a question that had been nagging at him for some time.

"Hey, when your dad _is_ home, where does he sleep? In the bedroom?"

Danny shook his head. "Oh god no. Hell, that door hasn't even opened since... well, you know. The morning after it all happened, we bleached the sheets and made the made how mom liked it, and left. No one's been in there since. He sleeps on the couch when he's home, which isn't very often."

They walked in silence from then on, only speaking again when they got to the Fenton residence. They piled into the living room, then each spread out to gather the movie essentials. Sam looked through the horror movies, Tucker hooked up the sound system, and Danny gathered junk food.

"So guys, what do we want to watch? I hear 'Running Scared' was a freaky one..."

"Sure," Danny called from the kitchen. He returned with a big bowl of popcorn, candy, and other junk in his arms. They settled in for a night of terror.

**Monday, October 2, 2013**

**Boston, Massechussets, The campus of Harvard University **

**11:17 PM**

Jason West was a ninteen-year-old college student, wandering the campus of Harvard University after hours. He wasn't getting into trouble, as the clerk at the mini mart had thought. He was studying the stars, since it was the first night since he'd arrived that he'd been able to do so.

Sure, he was going to get chewed out by Jazz again for violating curfew, but tonight was worth it. Especially since there was nothing in the way of his night-time passion.

Unfortunately for Jason West, he picked a very poor night to go star gazing. Something wispy and transparent was slithering up to him, like a snake closing in on its prey. The wisp, a ghost, suddenly slipped into Jason's body before he knew what happened. His normally green eyes lit up... and turned to a misty brown. The handsome features of his face twisted into a look that was unbecoming for him. Sadistic insanity touched his lips.

"At laaassst... It's sooooo good to have a body once more..."

Jason turned and vanished into the shadows.

**Tuesday, October 3, 2013**

**Casper High, room 17**

**2:51 PM**

The droning of Mr. Pierce nearly put the entire room to sleep. Tucker, who already knew everything the teacher was saying, took the opportunity to get some rest before that night's ghost hunting. Danny, who _didn't_ know everything the teacher was saying, slept anyways. He'd get the notes from Sam later, anyways, along with a lecture which he would promptly apologize for and end up doing the same thing the next day.

At length the bell rang and the class bolted out of the room. Danny yawned as they stepped into the hallway. Students were grabbing homework and other things out of their lockers before heading home. Danny slipped his arm through his locker door, grabbed his bag, and the three left the school.

"I can't believe it's only Tuesday. This week will not end," Danny yawned.

The trio parted ways. Danny decided he would rather fly then walk, so he crept behind a building and changed. He flew the remainder of the way home, flew through the door, reverted, and checked the mail.

"Hmmm... junk... junk... bills... hey, a letter from Jazz."

_Dear Danny,_

_I've got some good news. Jason and I are coming home for a few days to visit you and Dad (if he's around.) I'm excited to see your progress in school and if your eyes have improved any. I'm also looking forward to reading you my thesis that I've been writing since I started college. It's gotten really good. Well, I'll be there on the 13th, so write it down on the calender because I know you'll forget. Well, see you soon._

_Love,_

_Jazz_

_P.S. If Dad comes home, make sure he remembers who Jason is this time.  
_

Danny shrugged and tossed the letter onto the counter. It would be nice to see his sister again, and to talk to someone for once other than the reciever of the phone. His dad still wasn't home. He probably wouldn't be for several more days. Danny descended the stairs to the lab, and once again, found the portal wide open. It only stayed open when he opened it... or something had gotten out and hadn't returned.

Danny hadn't opened the portal.


	2. The Woman in the Graveyard

_**Danny Phantom**_

_**Unseeing**_

_Author's Notes: I'm so sorry for taking this long to update... a whole year, actually. I've been so distracted with my other stories that I completely forgot to finish this one. Well, here's another chapter of "Unseeing."_

**Chapter Two**

**The Woman in the Graveyard  
**

* * *

**Tuesday, October 3, 2013**

**The Fenton Residence, the Lab**

**3:32 PM**

Danny was perplexed, to say the least. With a sigh he shut the great metal doors and phased through the ceiling. Had it just stayed open after the box ghost? Or had something else gotten out while he'd been chasing around the box ghost? He didn't know how long it'd been open...

For the remainder of the night, Danny stayed in his room. He wasn't really in the mood to do much else. This house did haunt him, and he half wished his mother would come around, but he knew she wouldn't. He knew she'd moved on. If she hadn't, he'd have already known about it. Even if he desperately wished for the company, there really wasn't much he could do about it.

The phone rang. He grumbled, getting to his feet and phasing through the door. He slid down the banister and snatched the phone off the hook. "Fenton Works Ghost research and extermination, how can I help you?" he said, plopping down onto the couch.

"Hello, Daniel."

Danny stared at the receiver. "Er... who am I speaking to?" he asked cautiously.

"It's been three, little boy." And with that, the line went dead. Danny tensed, looking at the caller I.D. and raising an eyebrow. It was blank.

"What in the hell is going on?" he whispered, hanging up the phone and pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

"Hey, Sam? Yeah... awesome, see you in ten minutes."

**Tuesday, October 3, 2013**

**The Nasty Burger**

**3:46 PM**

"So tell me what happened. What did this guy say?" asked the raven-haired goth girl. Danny couldn't help but stare at her for a few moments. "Danny?"

"Right. Well, he knew my name. My name isn't in the ad. That, and he said, 'It's been three, little boy.' That's pretty weird."

Tucker nodded. He was slurping down a milkshake, only to pause and the icy beverage caused his brain to go numb. "Ah!" he moaned, drawing a snort of laughter from the teen in the dark glasses. "Hey!"

Sam rolled her lavender eyes. "Guys!" she said, and the two froze. "Look, this is serious. Danny, do you remember anyone else saying that? Ever?"

Danny thought a moment. Had he heard those words? He couldn't recall...

_"See you in three, little boy..."_

Danny's heart stopped for a second. "No... there's no way."

Sam stared at him. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. It's nothing." The look in the goth beauty's eyes told him she saw right through his lie. Her lavender eyes tore down his defenses and locked on his crystal orbs through his dark glasses. How was it that she did this to him every time? He grumbled. "Okay..." he whispered, leaning in so only his fellow ghost hunters could hear. "_HE_ said it... three years ago."

"Dude, it's probably just a prank. Or maybe he's haunting the phone."

Danny nodded. "Tuck, I really hope that's all it is."

**Tuesday, October 3, 2013**

**The Fenton Residence**

**5:34 PM**

Danny closed the door behind him. Well, he did feel a little better, and that was all that counted. The cell phone in his pocket rang loudly, causing him to jump, though he'd felt it long before it went off. He snatched it out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Hello?" he said, masking the adrenaline coursing through him from the shock.

"Hey there, Danny!" came the voice of his father on the other line in what sounded like a poor attempt at enthusiasm. Danny didn't comment on this.

"Hey Dad. How's the convention going?" he asked, flopping down onto the couch.

"Great, great... so, any news from Jazz?"

"Yeah, she'll be home Friday."

"Excellent! It'll be like old times... kind of. I'll be home Thursday night. Everything else going okay?"

"Yeah, as okay as things ever are around here."

"Ghosts?"

"Always."

"Well, just keep up your grades. I'll be home in a few days. Take care, son."

"You too, Dad."

The line went dead as Jack hung up the phone. Danny sighed loudly. That was really the most he and his father had spoken in the last three months. The memory of the bonds he used to have with his family and the reality of how severed they had become made his insides boil with resentment, mostly towards himself. But then, what was he to do? Jazz was gone, his father was now a mostly respected paranormal expert, and he was... well, he had plenty on his own plate, what with being Danny Phantom _and_ training his ghost powers to compensate for the loss of his eyesight. It had to be perfect if he planned to really be an astronaut.

But that was all minor to what was threatening to overwhelm him in the back of his mind. Who had been the caller? Could it have possibly been that bastard? He didn't know, and that was the fact that scared him the most.

The phone rang again, and Danny jumped. He snatched it up and said, "Fenton Works Ghost Extermination and Research, can I help you? ...yes... yes... okay, could I have a description of the ghost? ...alright, can I have your address? ... okay, I'll send someone over."

**Tuesday, October 3, 2013**

**The Cassas Residence, the Graveyard**

**6:17 PM**

As always, for such missions, Danny Phantom was the one who responded to the calls, with his two companions, each wearing the regular Fenton uniform of all black, with the Fenton logo sprawled across their shirts, black caps, and dark sunglasses. Sam usually removed her purple lipstick, so she'd be less recognizable.

Danny himself wore a long black trench-coat over top of his jumpsuit. It helped with the illusion. He rang the doorbell with a gloved hand. An elderly woman cracked the door and peered out before opening the door completely. "You... are you here to get rid of her?"

Danny nodded and gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry, ma'am, we'll take care of your ghost problem. Can you show me to the graveyard?"

"Oh, yes," she said, her voice timid, and she stepped out the door. The poor old woman was using a cane to walk and hobbled, rather than stepped. Danny would have offered her assistance, but he knew she'd refuse. People like her always did.

The graveyard was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. Dark, ominous clouds covered the sky, typical of haunted places like this. He jerked his head to the other two, and they followed him in, each with their own ecto-weapons. The old woman closed the gate behind him and hurried back to the safety of her porch, where she watched.

Danny looked around. These graves dated back to the early 1800's, and most of the their owners had died rather young. The most recent grave was the grave of a young woman, around his mother's age (a thought that made him swallow hard), and she had died only four years ago. Danny knelt down to read the script: _Lyra, a beloved daughter, wife, and mother. You were taken from us too soon, but you will not be forgotten. _He sighed and bowed his head for an instant and moved away from the grave, turning to the others.

"I'm not seeing..." he started, noticing that his breath had gone frigid. Sam was clutching her ecto-blaster and Tucker had a firm grip on the thermos. Danny turned slowly.

Hovering about the grave was a woman. She might have been rather pretty, in life. Her hair was deep red and her eyes were a deep turquoise. Danny stiffened as she rose just about the headstone of her grave. There were marks in each of her hands and in her feet, like knife-marks. A deep red stain circled the area around her heart. Her face... she looked so sad, so haunted. Like the pain of a thousand weeping mothers had pooled in her eyes. But Danny's eyes fell on something that made his stomach jolt.

Around her neck was draped a rosary.

She moved towards him, wailing. His two companions covered their ears, but Danny was transfixed. She stumbled and he caught her as she wept, sobbing into his coat. He did his best to comfort her. They sank to the ground, and Danny pulled her up.

"It's alright, Lyra," he whispered. She gasped and looked up to him.

"Why?" she moaned. "Why did I have to leave them? My babies..."

"They're alright. You did nothing wrong. It wasn't your fault."

"R-really?"

He nodded. "I would know. He killed my mother, too."

"He's back," she shuddered, sobbing again. "He's back, and he wants revenge! My husband... my children... my mother..."

"They'll be alright. I promise."

"You... so much anger..." she whispered, her eyes becoming wide. She buried her face into his chest and wept for a long time. "Please, I don't want to see them yet. Don't let him hurt my babies."

Danny nodded. "I promise."

A grateful smile flitted across her sad features. "Thank you, ghost child. Thank you..." she whispered. "I... I want to help." Danny raised an eyebrow. She went on. "Please, let me help. I want to make sure he never hurts another. I want to make sure you can make him go away... forever."

Sam knelt down beside Danny, a gentle smile on her face. "Okay, come with us."

Tucker nodded, not moving from his position. Danny got to his feet, pulling the older ghost to her feet. She reminded him of his mother, somehow.

"Hold on to me until we leave the graveyard. Or else, you'll get trapped in the gate."

She nodded and did as she was told. Danny took her to the car, while Sam rushed to explain to the old woman what they were doing. She didn't seem to mind, so it didn't take long before the small group was once again on the road to the Fenton house.

**Thursday, October 12, 2013**

**Casper High, room 36**

**10:34 AM**

"So, in conclusion, early stories of Europe..."

Mr. Lancer had been lecturing them all morning, and Danny was, as usual, dozing off. Sam poked him in the side and he jumped, his knee hitting the desk hard. He bit his tongue.

"Mr. Fenton, is there a problem?"

Danny shook his head and shot a playful glare at Sam through the glasses. She gave him her customary smirk. Tucker was snickering in the seat in front of them, trying to look like he was paying attention.

The glorious ringing of the bell signaled the end of class and the students rushed into the hall. Danny stretched and yawned.

"You know, you ought to pay attention at least once a week," Sam said, her hand on her hip. "You're lucky we have most of the same classes."

He shrugged. "I'm lucky you're my best friend." She gave him a smile as they reached his locker.

"So, your dad coming home tonight?"

"Yeah."

The last ten days had gone by in an unbelievable blur. Hardly any ghosts, less homework, and he actually had company at night. Lyra had proven to be more of a blessing than a curse, though on occasion she did break down and begin wailing like a banshee. Danny didn't mind, though, because more often than not, she was more maternal than upset. She kept the house fairly clean, had taken up cooking, and she'd spend the nights listening to Danny rant about how much he hated the Box Ghost, or whatever happened to be irritating him at the time.

All in all, it had been a fairly good two weeks. But why did it feel to him like these two weeks weren't going to last?

He phased his arm through the locker door and snatched the book for his next class. No Dash again today. It really had shaped up to be a good week. For awhile, anyways.

"So, you guys coming over tonight? I think Lyra's going to cook again."

Tucker, at the mention of food, nodded eagerly, while Sam rolled her eyes at the two. "Yes, we'll be there."

**Thursday, October 12, 2013**

**The Fenton Residence**

**6:47 PM**

"Okay, so let me make sure he knows you're here before you come in, otherwise he might-"

The door crashed open. "Danny! I'm home!" Jack shouted, smiling. His eyes, however, revealed that he wasn't as happy to be home as his face said he was. The smile vanished the instant he saw Lyra hovering behind his son. "Danny! Look out, a ghost!"

Danny spread his arms as a gesture of protection. "Dad! She's alright! I brought her here. She's not a bad ghost."

Jack eyed her for a moment. Lyra was crouched behind Danny, waiting for the shouting to end. At last, Jack's posture returned to normal, and he put a hand on the back of his neck as a gesture of embarrassment. "Er... well, this is unexpected. Um... I'm Jack." He extended his hand to shake, only to withdraw it again when he realized she didn't have real hands. She smiled.

"I'm Lyra," she replied, standing up. Danny dropped his arms and sighed in relief.

"Jazz is bringing Jason, by the way," he said, moving to sit on the couch.

"Jason?"

"Her boyfriend, remember?"

Jack's face went blank. Danny pointed a finger at the picture on the wall, at which point Danny could almost see the light bulb flick on in his father's head. "Oh! Well, the more the merrier!"

Danny nodded. Sam and Tucker emerged from the kitchen. "Dinner!" Sam called, and the four of them sat around the table. Lyra looked on sadly from the kitchen, but didn't say anything. Danny wanted to help, but there was really nothing he could do. After all, ghosts didn't eat.

"So, any activity with the portal?"

Danny shot a look at Sam and Tucker before replying. "Um... well... I'm not sure. Something got out last night, but I haven't seen anything. It's probably nothing."


End file.
